If there has ever been a time to talk about and believers to begin to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is now. Perhaps I should type that last sentence over and over again a few dozen times. Paul instructed us not to be ignorant of these gifts and their working and yet many today are clueless. (1 Corinthians 12:1)
In my “It’s Time – Now!” post, I shared that these gifts are to operate in and through each and every Spirit-filled believer. Just for the sake of jarring your memory, let me restate from that post that this “every” includes you. Unfortunately, due to my self-imposed word count limit, I didn’t get to share the how for the now.
Before I tell about how to activate these gifts, let me reshare what Paul wrote about these gifts.
“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:7-12
Flowing in these gifts is so simple. Consider these thoughts.
- Desire. I am convinced that God isn’t withholding these precious, powerful gifts from His Church. They are readily available. So, why aren’t we seeing these gifts? For many, they are absent today because there is absolutely no desire for these gifts. Sadly, the gifts are not a part of their churches’ “machinery”. And, if it is not seen in the local body of Christ, it won’t be seen in the believer’s (that’s you and me) daily life. Paul wrote, “…you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts…” (I Corinthians 14:1, New Century Version). So, first of all, we are to flip on our “desire” switch.
- Ask. It is one thing to desire and yet another thing to make your desire known. Here is an excellent example. When telling about the baptism in the Holy Spirit, Luke 11:13 doesn’t say that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who see their need. Nor does Luke write that this gift would come to those who know of the gift’s availability. This gift is given to those who ask. Just a few verses earlier, we read that Jesus shared the importance of asking, seeking, and knocking. (Luke 11:9) This is true of salvation, healing, deliverance, and on and on. Put your desire on display. Desire AND ask to flow in the gifts of the Spirit! I often tell the Father, “Father, today I want to work together with your Holy Spirit and His gifts. Use me. I’m open. I’m available. I’m ready.”
- Prepare. You have the desire to be used by the Holy Spirit. You have and continue to ask to be used. Now, it is essential to have your spirit become sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This comes by praying in other tongues. I find this to be true, the more that I pray in other tongues in my daily walk with the Spirit, the more of His gifts that I see operate through me. On the other hand, the less that I pray in other tongues in my daily walk, the less manifestation of these gifts is seen.
- Do. As with EVERYTHING in our life in Christ, this is a part of the “the just shall live by faith” venture. (Hebrews 10:38). As you sense the prompting of the Holy Spirit, act! Be sensitive and respond to the “as He will” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:12. Remember, it is His gift(s) demonstrated through His chosen individual at His chosen time. Our responsibility is to desire, ask, prepare, and respond.
Our Father so wants us as Spirit-filled believers to operate in these gifts that He has made the “now” and “how” so simple. In fact, this is so simple that we would need a lot of help to misunderstand it. Unfortunately, we as a church have had all of the help that we can stand.
Now is the time. You are the person. Go and do Kingdom business with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
OH! OH! OH! I can’t quit writing without adding that these gifts are NOT just for adults. Nowhere in the Bible will you find any age stipulation for God’s promise, power, and gifts. So, let’s STOP creating and imposing this restrictive barrier. As much as I’d like to continue on this thought, it will have to wait until some future blog post.
